Taking a job in DC (Arlington, Leesburg: buying a house, buying, schools)

[dallastxgirl]

I have been looking on the internet at homes and checking city-data for some time. I hope that everyone is not sick of answering this question. My husband is talking to a company in Arlington. I know the options, but I would love to hear from someone that is living a bit of a distance away and taking the train to DC. I looked (on the net) at Martinsburg WV. I posted a thread there but got zero response. Winchester is a bit closer. I spoke to one realtor that said live in Arlington if you can. You can get a nice home there for 600-700K. That is so alien to me. We live in a suburb of Dallas now, but it's a 20 minute drive into Dallas. Is there anyone out there taking the train, occasionally driving, schools, life in general. Thanks so much!

[goldenmom7500]

Hmm, there was an article, I think, in the Washington Post in the last 3-6 months about a couple who moved to WV and were commuting to different places, like one to DC and one to MD, or some other combination. Their life just sounded terrible. I think the thrust of the article was that they had sacrified their quality of life. Maybe someone who read this can correct me, but I was left with this sort of impression.

I also know of people who take the VRE from places far out in VA. I want to say we know someone who does it from Woodstock, VA (well, we definitely know someone in Woodstock, but I don't know who does the commute or from where, but I know they get up really early.) I mean, to me this doesn't sound like the good life, but riding a nice commuter train is not such a bad way to pass the time.

I do think there are other options that you might prefer. Could you be more specific about your price range and the type of community you would like? I would tend to suggest Loudoun County or Fauquier County or something like that.

[bishope]

The bottom line is this place is crazy when it comes to buying a house. 600-700K in Arlington? That's just insane...even though I'm used to the prices (been here 2 years), it still shocks me to this day. I live in Winchester and commute to Leesburg. I couldn't imagine commuting to Arlington or D.C. everyday (180 mile round trip).

Best of luck to you -- hope the job pays real well.

bish

[roanoker 4]

Please remember, the DC Metro area has the 2nd worse traffic congestion in the U.S. after Los Angeles. If Virginia "ever" gets a grip on Northern VA
commuting patterns they will realize we need a train from Winchester to DC.
I understand there are some who commute from Martinsburg WV/Harpers Ferry area probably because of the Amtrak service at Harpers Ferry to DC.
For your sanity, please move closer in to DC. Does anyone know if there are plans for a train from Winchester to Union Station? I live about 3 hours from Washington and I travel to town frequently but due to congestion, I no longer travel there.